Luggage items and in particular luggage cases (i.e., suitcases) conventionally include wheels attached to the case to allow the case to be pulled along. Brackets attach the wheels to the cases. Each bracket supports one or more wheels and generally permits the one or more wheels to rotate about a horizontal axis. Each bracket may be fixed about a vertical axis to prevent the one or more wheels from swiveling about the vertical axis (generally referred to as fixed wheels) or may be rotational about the vertical axis to permit swiveling of the one or more wheels about the vertical axis (generally referred to as spinner wheels).
The design of such wheels and wheel assemblies for luggage articles presents a particularly unique challenge. Specifically the wheels must be robust enough to withstand use under heavy loading of the case and transport over rough surface as well as when the case is dropped on its wheels. On other hand the wheels must also be light and compact so as to maximize the weight and volume that the luggage article can carry for a given overall size and weight. The wheels must also be simple and relatively cheap to produce and assemble to minimize cost.
A further problem that has been identified with conventional cases is that the wheel brackets generally transfer shock loads from the wheels to the cases and may be noisy as well. As such, the shock loads commonly are transferred through the case, disturb the arrangement of one's belongings, and/or cause damage to the belongings. The noise may be an annoyance and may make the use of the luggage case unpleasant.
It is therefore desirable to provide an improved luggage article, and more specifically an improved wheel bracket that addresses the above described problems and/or which more generally offers improvements or an alternative to existing arrangements.
Documents that may be related to the present disclosure in that they include various wheel brackets are: CN102578778, CN201194600, CN201675239, CN202278929, CN202407510, CN20528768, EP001175822-0002, EP0051995, US20110168508, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,738,542, 2,914,340, 2,923,961, 2,942,290, 2,987,752, 4,392,668, 4,422,212, and 6,478,315.